31 March 2017

Mark Twain's "writing hut"

At his most productive, Twain practically
chain-smoked cigars, and his craving for a quick burn was conspicuous at
250-acre Quarry Farm, a nest of solitude away from the social
hurly-burly of Hartford.

After a steak breakfast, Twain would saunter 300
feet across a lawn flecked with buttercups and black-eyed susans and
climb the stone steps to a promontory where the octagonal cabin was
perched. Amid the chirp and crackle of nature, overlooking a panorama he
called a "foretaste of heaven," Twain often churned out as many as
2,600 words a day...

To thwart vandals and accommodate tourists, the cabin was moved down to the Elmira College campus in 1952.

The top photo shows the study at its current location on the campus. The original location offered way more spectacular views.

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